The latest offering from Analog Africa continues their recent fascination with music from Peru. Following on from Ranil y Su Conjunto Tropical’s ‘Galaxia Tropical’ release in February 2026 comes this compilation of recordings from Victor Ramirez’s Los Orientales de Paramonga. While based around cumbia, it is an intoxicating concoction that mixes together psychedelic guitars and wah-wah pedals, guaracha, salsa, and guaguancó, later in their short career incorporating vocal arrangements and new styles such as chicha. A 25-track double album, Side A consists of seven tunes chosen from their 1972 full-length debut ‘Con Sabor Tropical’ with a further six songs cherry picked from its successor ‘Tremendo Ritmo’, while Sides C and D are composed of various singles.
Los Orientales de Paramonga hailed from the coastal city of Paramonga, about 200 km north of Lima. An early version of the band included Maximiliano Chávez whose slanted eyes, which he usually hid behind sunglasses, lent him the nickname El Chino and gave rise to the band’s name – a reminder that even at its most gentle the racial stereotyping of the 1970s is cringe-worthy! The local music scene was influenced by the sounds brought to the country on the records imported by workers at W. R. Grace and Company, one of the major American corporations in Peru, but then garnished it with their own local musical traditions.
At its best, there is an irresistible swing to Los Orientales de Paramonga’s music. Opening track ‘San Patricio’ illustrates this particularly well incorporating Cuban-influenced piano alongside the guitars. As is the case throughout their recordings the percussion has a lightness to it, using traditional instruments including timbales, tumba, quinto and huiro. Their higher pitch distinguishes the music from the bass thump found in much Western rock music. ‘San Patricio’ is one of three tracks from ‘Con Sabor Tropical’ to feature vocals and arguably these are the most appealing songs. On ‘Guajira Oriental’ their enchanting sway contrasts with jittery guitars; the way the tune builds to a frenetic pitch of intensity is a particular highlight. ‘A-Chi-Li-Pu’ brings this winning combination of vocals, piano swing and guitar action to the fore in a heart-lifting fashion. Of the instrumentals, ‘Buscando La Zorro’ is notable for the dexterous rhythms while organ flourishes give ‘Chiquilla En Onda’ a distinctive character, punctuated by a chilled guitar groove.
Heading onto the tracks from ‘Tremendo Ritmo’, ‘Viajando Con Un Loco’ makes heavy and effective use of wah-wah pedals. Bringing together complex and fast-paced guitar work with equally nifty percussion and vocal melodies, ‘El Monito Y La Jirafa’ is a welcome development. There are so many delights to ‘Siempre Contagiando’: a mid-song percussive twist that cannot fail to induce a smile; its mid-tempo vocal shuffle which is sunshine in a bottle; and a later change that sees the song building up a heady momentum. There is a gleeful quality to the twangy guitars of ‘Paseando En El Bosque.’
Of the singles, ‘El Metiche’ is a giddy rush, its start sounding as if it is being played at the wrong speed, and ‘El Romanito’ has great rhythmic punctuation that enhances its twanging guitars. ‘Mi Guajira Te Llama’ exemplifies the qualities they bring to the vocal tracks, the song beginning with a relaxed swagger but each time there is some emphatic percussive punctuation, it signals a shift to either a guitar break or a tempo shift. Like many of their most exhilarating tracks, it gathers momentum towards the end, an invitation to dance until exhaustion sets in. It is backed up by the surf guitar, flamboyant piano and lightening rhythms of the boisterous ‘Guajira Caliente’. Side C is rounded off with an absolute heart racer, the guitar led ‘Me Voy Pa, La Montaña’, starting off an electric skip and throwing in some fuzz for good measure.
Onto the final side and the highlights are two of the three vocal tracks. ‘La Ronda De Los Enanos’ is a quality blend of Cuban piano, twangy guitar, busy percussion, handclaps and vocal exclamations. With the lightest of guitars and shouts of “hey”, ‘A La Playa Me Voy Cantando’ is a continual exhortation to dance.
With its exuberant energy, ‘Los Orientales de Paramonga 1972-1976’ surpasses ‘Galaxia Tropical’ as a representation of Peruvian music at its finest. While not all the 25 tunes on the compilation are complete winners, it has a very decent proportion of absolute scorchers and even the lesser tracks have little variations that raise a smile. Generally, the vocals add an extra dimension to their sound and, at its best, the record is joyous.
Los Orientales de Paramonga: Los Orientales de Paramonga 1972-1976 – Out 19 June 2026 (Analog Africa)
Orientales de Paramonga : Siempre contagiando
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
